tasty grain free recipes from a former omnivore

glowing goddess quinoa salad {gluten free + vegan}

well hi! hello there! it has BEEN a minute! I am so stoked to share this glowing goddess quinoa salad with you!

about a month ago I took a little trip down to SF to visit my bestie (since 2nd grade! she’s kind of a gem), and my visit just so happened to fall on a full moon. so OF COURSE there was a full moon goddess ceremony to kick of the weekend – all the best girls + yoga + intention setting + guided meditation + heart opening + and some delicious//healthy food. umm talk about amazing! can we do this every full moon?

since we were in charge of bringing the tasty eats, the bestie had made a big batch of quinoa earlier that was just waiting to be all dressed up into something delicious. after a trip to the store down the street + raiding her fridge for farmer’s market goodies this lovely, bright and nourishing glowing goddess quinoa salad was born.

so I really can only take half the credit for this recipe – sf butterfly the other half belongs to you, bae! 😘

and it seriously could not get any easier to make. you literally just toss everything together and it’s ready to go! you can garnish with some extra green stuff for looks if you want (because who doesn’t like pretty food) and then it’s time to DIG IN!

while not necessary, I LOVE to soak my quinoa before cooking to break down the enzyme inhibitors and increase bioavailability of the vitamins and minerals in the grain. if you have tummy troubles with ANY grain this is a super simple + effective way to make everything a little bit easier on your body.

if you decide you want to give it a try here’s what you’ll do:

in a large bowl soak 2 cups quinoa in twice as much water along with a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, yogurt, whey or kefir (something acidic) for 12 to 24 hours.

drain and rinse well with cold water

transfer the quinoa to a pot and add just enough water to cover the plump grains

turn the burner on to medium high and bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover and set a timer for 5 minutes.

after 5 minutes turn off the heat and let the pot sit on the burner for about 10-15 minutes to allow it to finish steaming.

remove from heat and fluff with a fork! **if there is a little bit of water left in the pot after this whole process just drain well using a fine mesh strainer.**

now you can use the quinoa immediately or store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to make the salad! I will mention though that it is one of those salads that only improves with a little bit of time for the flavors to get to know each other.

♥️ signing off beauties + goddesses, and as always…

did you make this recipe? I would love to know how it turned out for you! when you rate my recipes and leave feedback it helps me continue to improve. you can leave me a comment below, or snap a picture and post it to instagramwith the tag @nyssaskitchen or hashtag #nyssaskitchen! xo